Take the long-standing grudge match between golfers Brian Pepper and Dick Grainger.

It's the end of Day One in the 36-hole Gross and the 54-hole Stableford competition for the over 60s, and players are starting to think about where they sit in the overall standings.

But that sort of thing is completely irrelevant to Brian and Dick.

All they're concerned about is which of them finishes the tournament ahead of the other.

Every Masters it's the same.

Brian, an ex-resident of Alice Springs, flies in from his new home of Ballina in northern NSW ... and it's back on.

According to Dick, the competitiveness extends off the course to eating and drinking too, but at the third hole this afternoon, it was still neck and neck.

For those familiar with the course, the third hole is notorious, well-known for a bunker that closely resembles the sort of dent a giant would make if one had sat down on the green, leaving clearly visible sandy buttock-prints.

"This is 'Bum Crack Hole'," says Kerry, a volunteer and regular Masters golfer from Victoria. She's just rolled up on a special drinks cart which circulates the course making sure players get plenty of fluid.

"Anyone who's played here, you ask them about this par 3 hole here and they'll remember it for sure."

It's easy to see why. But while it's a striking feature, the unusually shaped sand trap doesn't put Dick or Brian off their game, so neither gains an advantage.

What DOES put Dick off is the full-size statue of Mal Meninga standing in front of a house that overlooks the hole.

Apparently a mate of Dick's lived at the house, and bet him he could get rugby league legend Mal Meninga around to his place for lunch.

Dick took that bet, only to lose when the statue showed up. Perhaps he could have argued the point, but he took it like a sportsman.

"I had to shout a round for everyone down at [a well-known drinking establishment]."

Despite the heat, Dick manages to get on top of his emotions, and by the time the two head off towards the fourth hole, the scores are still very close.

Tracey Guerin, the golf coordinator for this year's Masters, says there are plenty of people who use the Masters as an opportunity to catch up with old mates.

"There's a lot of people that come back every Masters to play golf - it's a real golfing community - people you don't see for two years catching up with long-lost friends when they arrive - also a lot of ex-locals that come back just for the event."